


Tilt

by abnormallllll (abnels)



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: F/M, Shopping Malls, Swearing, if i write more the rating will go up, screams goodbye, tellme if you want this to continue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 13:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1160503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abnels/pseuds/abnormallllll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>”You are so handsome.”</p><p>The words are low and fast and coming from somewhere behind you.</p><p>You never know what you might find.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

”You are so handsome.”

The words are low and fast and coming from somewhere behind you.

Until this moment you had been inclined to glare around angrily at the other customers while you search for a book that doesn’t make you want to tear your hair out with disgust. But you turn from what seems to be a promising volume to see who is making fun of you this time.

Instead, you see the back of a girl who is rushing away, holding her hat on her head. Black hair bounces with each step, thrown behind her in her bid to escape the scene. 

The book slips from your hands, and you find yourself in pursuit. 

What the fuck are you doing?

++++++++++

You lose sight of her evergreen pea coat in the food court. It leaves you tired and frustrated and wishing you’d never left the book store to go on this stupid chase in the first place. But someone’s got to yell at this girl. She should know better than to mess with Karkat Vantas, of all people. And since she’s obviously lacking education on the matter, you’re inclined to teach her. 

There’s definitely no chance you’re intrigued and maybe hopeful that she meant what she had said in the first place. No, that would be incredibly STUPID, and you do NOT, under any circumstances, entertain STUPID THOUGHTS such as those.

You collapse into a chair at a table, a bit out of breath. Your eyes search the many people clustered in the large cafeteria, but no sign of the knitted white hat or the pea coat.

However, someone is approaching your table with a tray of food. A quick glance around the room confirms what you already know: there are plenty of open tables. But this guy is staring right at you, why is he coming this way, is he some sort of halfwitted asshole, oh fuck he’s-

"Excuse me, someone bought this food for you and asked me to take it to you?" The guy sounds confused, setting the tray down on the table. You sort of gape at him with your mouth hanging open. "Yeah, uh, okay, bye," he says, turning to leave.

"Who?" you ask his back.

He shrugs. “Some chick with black hair. Kinda cute.” He seems… envious? What a moron. You channel all your confusion and annoyance into your middle finger and he rolls his eyes, departing. 

Look down.

You are already looking down, asshole, no need to get bossy. There’s a plate of fries and a sandwich staring back up at you. The napkin has a note on it. “Tilt!” It’s written in green, loopy handwriting. This girl is probably one of those happy idiots who think life is some sort of disgusting positive experience.

Well, whoever she is, she is going to have to wait. You have free food to eat.

You take one bite and realize you have made a mistake. The fucking sandwich is loaded with jalapeños. You swallow painfully, eyes watering, and chug the glass of water sitting in front of you. 

Oh, that’s it. She wants to be an asshole? You’ll show her an asshole. And by that you mean, by being an asshole, to her, because you have no intention of showing her an actual asshole, because that would be wrong, and weird, not to mention you don’t even know her name and-SHUT THE FUCK UP, KARKAT.

You SHUT THE FUCK UP immediately. The food takes a short ride to the trash can, the tray you leave on the table, and the napkin finds a home in your pocket. 

Tilt! is obviously an invitation to head to the arcade in the mall, which you promptly and angrily do. It’s dark in there, neon lights from games blinking at you from every which way. The perfect hiding place. It’s absolutely annoying.

Wandering through rows of games and people who are having a good time. This is not how you planned to spend your afternoon. You’d just wanted to sit in the quiet of the bookstore, drifting through the lives and loves of people who didn’t exist, undisturbed by the rest of the world. But apparently Mystery Girl had other plans. 

Someone takes hold of your wrist, and you don’t have to look to know it’s her.

She drags you to the back corner of the room, behind an out-of-order pinball machine. You glare at her, taking in the features you can see under the low light. Glasses. Tan skin. Bright green eyes. And a smile. Fuck, see, you knew she was going to be some kind of horrible optimist. One look at her handwriting and you knew you were doomed to a shitty encounter with a shittier person. But, fuck. 

You think you know her from somewhere.

"Hi, Karkat," she says. Fuck, you do know her from somewhere. Where do you know her from? 

"Hey." Your tone is ineffectual.

"Do you uh," she chews her lip nervously. "You know who I am, right?"

Shrug. She furrows her brow at you.

"We go to school together? Have a few classes in common?" She’s casting around hopefully. And you have to admit, you’ve definitely seen her before in school. 

"What the fuck is your name, halfwit." 

She flinches. “Jade Harley.”

Oh fuck, see, this is the part where you half to remember that life is a cruel joke played specifically on you, Karkat Vantas, as some sort of the universe’s attempt to come to terms with its horrifying reality. You are the butt of the galaxy’s joke. It is you.

Jade Harley, on the other hand, is John Egbert’s cousin. John Egbert, he who proclaimed himself your ‘best friend’ in freshman year, who hasn’t left you alone since, who you’ve grudgingly spent “free time” with just to get him to stop bothering you about it.. 

"I guess you don’t really talk to most people, uh, that’s okay, if you don’t really remember me… um-" you cut her off right there.

"Listen, Harley, I don’t know if Egbert put you up to one of his stupid pranks with this, but-"

"He didn’t."

"Right, so you’ve got the same sick and twisted streak in you, the one that spurs you to harass me as much as is humanly possible-"

"I don’t."

"Oh, I see, I stand fucking corrected, excuse me while I go shovel a steaming plateful of apology down your fucking protein-chute. Give me a minute to get to my calloused knees, because afterall, I am a veteran groveler." You roll your eyes. "Here’s the deal, Harley. I don’t have time or patience to be bothered by people who think it’s some sort of comedic opportunity to waste my time with ridiculous horseshit. Now, imagine for a second that I actually believed the ludicrous notion that you thought I was handsome. Do you think maybe that might be just a little, oh, I don’t fucking know, damaging to another person?”

"But I do think you are handsome, Kark-"

"HA, HA, NO, JOKE TIME IS OVER, HARLEY. EXPLAIN YOURSELF."

"I knew this would be difficult," she groans.

"IMAGINE THAT, A DIFFICULT ENCOUNTER WITH KARKAT VANTAS, INCONCEIVABLE, REALLY."

"I thought you said joke time was over, Karkat."

"JOKE TIME IS OVER, YES, BUT SARCASM TIME IS ALWAYS ON THE FUCKING CLOCK."

"Is it really that fucking difficult for you to believe that I like you Karkat?" She’s in your face now, heated sparks flying in her eyes.

"NO ONE LIKES ME, HARLEY, IT’S REALLY NOT THAT DIFFICULT A CONCEPT FOR MOST PEOPLE TO WRAP THEIR HEADS AROUND. YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, SEEM TO BE STRUGGLING WITH THE IDEA. MAYBE IT IS A FAMILY TRAIT."

"WELL THEN I AM SORRY FOR THINKING YOU WERE FUNNY AND ATTRACTIVE AND LIKABLE, GEEZ!"

"APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED, ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT WAS A REALLY SHITTY APOLOGY FULL OF LIES."

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU SHUT UP, HARLEY!"

"FUCKING FINE!" The two of you were already close, but there is suddenly one Jade Harley attached to you by the lips. You are frozen. Also an idiot. Yes, definitely an idiot, because a pretty girl is kissing you even after you insulted her and shouted in her face.

She runs her tongue over your lips, her hands at your sides, and somehow you are reciprocating. Your hands are on their way to her waist, but they don’t make it before she breaks the kiss.  
Jade smiles at you, winks, and runs off, leaving you completely dazed.

Jade Harley, huh? Smart, pretty, outgoing, disgustingly optimistic…

Your hand makes its way into your pocket, tracing the ghost of her touch. You unfreeze when you realize that the napkin isn’t alone anymore. There’s a small scrap of paper in your hand with green, curly letters on it. It’s unmistakably a chumhandle.

gardenGnostic. 

It looks like you found your story, afterall.


	2. Password Required

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you have any idea how to format the chat text to make it appear like canon, please shoot me a message on here or on tumblr (abnels.tumblr.com) because tbh i dont know what im doing

\- carcinoGeneticist began pestering grimAuxilliatrix at 6:08 pm -

CG: KANAYA.  
GA: Karkat  
GA: To What Do I Owe The Pleasure?  
CG: I HAVE A QUESTION.  
GA: Go For It  
CG: WHO THE FUCK  
CG: IS JADE HARLEY  
GA: Jade?  
CG: YES.  
CG: HARLEY.  
GA: She Is A Friend Of Mine  
CG: FRIEND?  
GA: Yes.  
CG: AND WHATS SHE LIKE?  
CG: BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I AM GETTING THE DISTINCT, DICKCHAFING NOTION THAT SHE IS EXACTLY LIKE EGBERT.   
CG: AND YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT ASSHOLE.  
GA: Yes I Do Think Youve Mentioned Your Views On That Matter Once Or Twice  
CG: HA HA HA.  
CG: I AM LAUGHING SO HARD OVER HERE.   
GA: It Really Wasnt That Funny  
CG: CAN WE PLEASE JUST GET TO THE FUCKING POINT.  
GA: Right  
GA: Jade Is A Very Nice Girl. Shes Loyal And Sweet And Very Intelligent. She Stands Up For Her Friends And Is Outgoing.  
CG: OKAY I KNOW ALL THOSE THINGS.  
CG: BUT WHAT IS SHE *LIKE*?  
GA: What Do You Mean?  
CG: WELL I MEAN DOES SHE HAVE A SICK FETISH FOR BUGGING THE HELL OUT OF ME LIKE JOHN DOES?  
CG: IM JUST TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THIS ASININE HORSESHIT BEFORE I MAKE A GODDAMN FOOL OF MYSELF.  
GA: Is There Something I Should Know   
GA: Why Are You Asking Me  
CG: NO. OH LOOK! IM SENSING A GIANT FUCK YOU, IM CHANNELING ITS POWER THROUGH MY MIDDLE FINGER AS WE TYPE.  
GA: Karkat If That Was An Attempt To Dodge The Question I Can Tell You Right Now That It Isnt Going Very Well  
CG: FINE.  
CG: TODAY. AT THE MALL.  
CG: I RAN INTO HER.  
GA: Ran Into Her?  
CG: NOT LITERALLY.  
CG: WELL, KIND OF LITERALLY.  
CG: SHE MIGHT HAVE UH  
CG: GOD IM GETTING FLUSTERED WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME.  
GA: Please Continue When Youre Ready  
GA: ...  
GA: Karkat? Are You Still There?  
CG: FUCK  
CG: YEAH IM STILL HERE  
CG: SORRY.  
GA: Anyway...  
CG: SO SOME ASSHOLE TAPS MY SHOULDER AND PAYS ME A LIE.  
CG: AND BY LIE I MEAN COMPLIMENT.  
CG: TURNS OUT IT WAS HARLEY, AND I ONLY FIND THIS OUT AFTER CHASING HER THROUGH THE MALL AND GETTING CORNERED BY HER IN THE FUCKING ARCADE FROM HELL.  
CG: SHE STARTS TALKING TO ME AND I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL JOKE. SO NATURALLY I STARTED YELLING AT HER.  
GA: Naturally  
CG: YES, FUCKING NATURALLY.  
CG: I THINK BY THIS POINT WEVE ESTABLISHED THAT IM A NATURAL AT BEING A LOUDMOUTHED ASSHOLE.  
GA: Please Continue  
CG: SO SHE STARTED YELLING BACK.  
CG: AND THEN  
CG: UH.  
GA: Uh?  
CG: SHE KISSED ME?  
GA: Hmm  
CG: HMM? FUCKING HMM? WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN KANAYA.  
GA: If You Will Give Me Enough Time To Type  
GA: Then Ill Explain  
CG: SORRY.  
GA: Jade Isnt One To Hide Her Feelings  
GA: And She Doesnt Like Lying  
GA: I Would Say That She Probably Likes You Karkat  
CG: FUCK.  
GA: Is That Not What You Wanted To Hear?  
CG: I DONT KNOW WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR.  
CG: BUT THIS MAKES THINGS COMPLICATED.  
GA: How So  
CG: WELL I DONT KNOW HER WELL AT ALL.  
CG: I BARELY KNEW WHO SHE WAS, SHE HAD TO TELL ME HER FUCKING NAME AND EVERYTHING.  
GA: I See  
CG: I DONT KNOW KANAYA.  
CG: I DONT REALLY KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO  
GA: I Think You Should Give It A Chance  
CG: WHAT IF I FUCK IT UP?  
CG: I FUCK EVERYTHING UP, WHY WOULD THIS BE AN EXCEPTION?  
CG: HARLEYS FUCKING FRIENDLY AND SOCIABLE AND POSITIVE  
CG: THATS NOTHING LIKE ME.  
CG: IM GOING TO FUCK UP.  
GA: Karkat You Are Going To Be Fine  
GA: If She Wants To Talk To You She Wont Give Up Too Easily  
GA: What Will You Have Lost By Trying?  
CG: NOTHING, I GUESS.  
CG: FINE. ILL TALK TO HER.  
GA: Good  
CG: UH  
CG: I GUESS IM GOING TO GO DO THAT SO...  
CG: THANKS KANAYA.  
GA: No Problem   
CG: SEE YOU.  
GA: Bye

\- carcinoGenetisist ceased pestering grimAuxilliatrix at 6:32 -

You spend the next ten minutes glaring at your computer. Fuck, do you really have to do this? You think you do. Your mouse hovers over her chumhandle. gardenGnostic. What does that even mean? A quick search gets you no closer to figuring out what kind of person Jade Harley is. Does she like plants? Does she feel relatively neutral about them? Fuck if you know.

You know you have seen her around school now. You remember black hair bobbing around crowds of people. She’s well-liked, has lots of friends. She’s nothing like you and that makes you doubt her interest even more. You’re losing your nerve when a sound comes from downstairs.

“KARKAT, CENA!”

It’s your dad. He’s always so crabby, especially since your older brother went off to college. Leaving you alone to deal with this asshole. He’s always yelling, always angry about something. But you know he really cares about you, he makes sure your needs are met and actually gives good advice when you ask for it. He immigrated from Central America, married, and had you and your brother. 

Your mother is dead, and you don’t like to talk about it.

“OKAY!” You flip off your computer, and head downstairs for dinner. Harley can wait.  
Your dad made chicken for dinner, drenched in red mole sauce, with white rice and some mixed vegetables. It’s excellent, he’s always been a really good cook, and he certainly isn’t going to stop that any time soon. Not if you have anything to say about it.

 

He asks you about how your weekend is going, and you grumble a response about finding a good book at the mall. He drones on for a bit about work, and finally you’re free. Free to do absolutely nothing except stare at that stupid chumhandle, that is.

You squeeze your eyes shut. Get it over with, fucknuts. You double-click the left mouse button. 

A new chat window has opened. “Rest in peace, shithead,” you mutter to yourself. And then, you start typing.

\- carcinoGeneticist began pestering gardenGnostic at 7:34 pm -

CG: HEY.  
CG: THIS IS JADE, RIGHT?  
CG: OR UH. HARLEY  
CG: WHICHEVER THE FUCK.  
CG: …HELLO?  
CG: WELL THIS WAS A HUGE WASTE OF TIME  
GG: karkat!!  
GG: hey! :D  
CG: FINALLY DECIDED TO GRACE ME WITH YOUR PRESENCE, HUH?  
CG: ITS ABOUT GODDAMN TIME.  
CG: NOT THAT I WAS WAITING AROUND OR ANYTHING.  
GG: um  
GG: sure whatever karkat! :P  
CG: SHUT THE FUCK UP  
GG: :O  
GG: rude!  
CG: GLAD YOU PICKED UP ON IT.  
CG: SO.  
GG: so??  
CG: SO YOU STUCK YOUR CHUMHANDLE IN MY POCKET  
GG: oh yeah!! i did didnt i  
CG: YEAH.  
CG: ...  
CG: WHY EXACTLY DID YOU DO THAT, BY THE WAY?  
GG: i wanted to get to know you better  
CG: AND YOU COULDNT JUST TELL ME NORMALLY?  
GG: no  
GG: you would not have remembered karkat  
CG: SAYS WHO?  
GG: i have very reliable sources  
CG: KANAYA?  
GG: nope!!  
CG: JOHN.  
GG: hehe  
GG: no karkat  
GG: i am not telling you  
CG: WHY THE FUCK NOT?  
GG: because you will get angry  
CG: DID YOUR SOURCE TELL YOU THAT TOO?  
GG: as a matter of fact they did!! :p  
CG: SO WHAT ELSE DID THESE SOURCES TELL YOU? SURELY THEY DIDNT GIVE YOU THE DOWN LOW OF MY SHITTY, WORTHLESS EXISTENCE.  
GG: ummm  
GG: no they did not!!  
CG: BUT I THOUGHT YOU KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME.  
GG: ???  
CG: WELL THATS HOW YOURE FUCKING ACTING   
GG: am not!  
CG: ARE TOO  
GG: am not!!  
CG: YOU ABSOLUTELY ARE.  
GG: karkat please stop  
CG: STOP WHAT?  
CG: YOURE THE ONE WHO HARASSED ME AT THE MALL  
CG: AND THEN. WHATEVER IT WAS THAT YOU DID IN THE ARCADE.  
GG: you mean kissing you?  
CG: YEAH SURE. ASSAULT IS ALSO AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION, THOUGH.  
CG: YOU PROBABLY USE THEM INTERCHANGEABLY WITH THAT FUCKED UP HEAD OF YOURS  
GG: wow  
GG: :(  
CG: WHAT.  
CG: THAT WAS A FUCKING JOKE, HARLEY.  
CG: HA HA AND ALL THAT SHIT  
CG: TAKE A LEAF OUT OF EGBERTS BOOK AND LAUGH  
CG: OR BETTER, DONT TALK TO ME AT ALL. SAVE US BOTH SOME VERY UNNECESSARY TROUBLE.  
GG: you are kind of  
CG: KIND OF WHAT?  
CG: TERRIBLE? DISAGREEABLE? AN ASSHOLE? THE WORST PERSON YOUVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF MEETING/KISSING??  
CG: ALL OF THE ABOVE, PROBABLY.  
GG: that is not what i was going to say...   
CG: THEN SPIT IT OUT, I DONT HAVE ALL NIGHT.  
GG: you are kind of making me sad

\- gardenGnostic blocked carcinoGeneticist -

Oh, fuck.

Fuck, you’re an idiot, fuck.

You try clicking on her chumhandle again, as if by some chance you can get through and take back what you said. Or at least some of it. For a second, your heart pounds, because a window opens. But it’s not the one you were hoping to find.

PASSWORD REQUIRED:  
_ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i update slowly, sorry about that. but this is still a thing thats happening, and i appreciate all the kudos and the comments they remind me that i need to stop being a shite and update this ; v ;
> 
> let me know what you think if you have the time! <3


	3. Chapter 3

School on Monday proves to be more terrible than you could have possibly anticipated. First period goes off without a hitch, which of course is a sure sign that everything is about to go to shit. And naturally as the minutes pass with your creative writing teacher picking apart The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe (you think the guy was creepy but also really fucking talented), you’re about one hundred percent certain that it’s going to be a perfect day. Because to you, there’s no such thing as a Terrible Day without a Perfect Day part that tricks you into thinking it’s not going to be that bad.

But it’s always that bad.

You make a quick stop at your locker to dump your excessively heavy literature book inside, and grab a notebook before hurrying off to history. Your history teacher is kind of an ass, and while you can generally tolerate learning about the past, you could do without the guy pounding his hands on his podium every time he talks about the violent shit. It’s often a source of migraines for you. 

On your way to class, of course you run into Vriska Serket. She’s a temperamental bitch most of the time, always harassing everyone she encounters, and spending plenty of afternoons in detention. Vriska considers it her personal duty to make sure the scores are even on all sides. Allllllll of them. You hate her just a little more than is standard for you (your standard is to hate everyone of course).

Vriska exits the bathroom, tossing her blue-dyed hair over her shoulder, and spots you. 

“Vaaaaaaaantas,” she calls with a smirk, leaning against the white wall to your right. You ignore her and keep walking.

That was not a good move, probably, because a hand grabs the back of your backpack and tugs you so that you land on your ass. Another unfortunate thing about Vriska: she is strong.

“I’m _talking_ to you, tiny, there’s no need to be rude.” She grins down at you. “I heard you had an interesting weekend.”

“Fuck right off, Vriska. Don’t you have a fucking detention to go to or something?” You glare up at her. You don’t have time for this. Not now, not ever.

“Not yet. But, I could earn one at any moment!” Vriska folds her arms across her chest. God you’d love to punch that face. There isn’t a face in the world that’s more punchable, probably. Except maybe your own, but for once in your miserable life, that isn’t the case.

A tapping noise comes from the bathroom. And out comes Terezi Pyrope, with a typical wide-toothed grin. Terezi is significantly less terrible than Vriska. She’s almost likable, actually. With shoulder-length dark brown hair (save for a streak of red that Vriska probably convinced her to get) and a pair of red glasses to cover her unseeing eyes, she almost looks attractive. You make a mental note to berate yourself later for thinking that. You and Terezi had been An Item in middle school, back before you knew half the stuff you now know about romance. God, you were a bumbling idiot back then. If there’s anyone you hate more than yourself (and Vriska at the moment), it’s Younger You. 

“Hey, Karkat,” she says with a smirk, even though you don’t know how she knew it was you.

Forcing down a shudder at the memories playing through your head, you nod by way of greeting before remembering that _SHE’S FUCKING BLIND YOU IDIOT_. 

“Hi.” 

“Really talkative today, aren’t we?” She whacks your shin with her cane, and you withdraw your legs with a noise of indignation. How did she even know that’s where they were? Even though it was years ago, you’re certain that she has yet to forgive you for the time the two of you kissed and got your braces stuck together.

“Fuck off,” you start to say, but then the bell rings with a note of finality. “Shit.” If you’re caught late again, you’ll get detention for sure.

You pull yourself off of the floor and book it down the hall over sounds of Vriska and Terezi laughing at you. Fuck them, honestly. 

Although you entered the room after the bell, your ass is planted firmly in its rightful spot when your teacher finally walks in.

“Vantas,” he says, his voice deceptively flat, “late again I see.”

You splutter, your face paling, as he begins to pull out a tardy slip. Fuck shit fuck ass shit. FUCK.

“But- I wasn’t- I tripped in the hall and.“ Mr. K is already walking to your seat. In an act of complete desperation, your glance to your immediate right, where the infamous John Egbert is sitting. Please let him cover for you. Please, Egbert, just this once…

John deliberately meets your eyes, and looks away, frowning. 

Ten minutes later, the tardy slip back on Mr. K’s desk, you turn to John and hiss, “What the fuck was that for, asshole?!”

“Jade,” John snaps back at you, crossing his arms as if that settles the matter.

“What happened between Harley and I is between us, and it’s not your fucking job to get even for her. And don’t act like she isn’t just doing this whole thing to fuck with me, because I’m still not convinced.”

John gives you a look that you only ever see on his face when someone answers an easy question wrong. It’s like he was your campaign manager for the presidential election, and you got caught kicking a puppy on camera. Bye bye, American Dream.

“You’re an idiot,” he finally says.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“She likes you, Karkat.”

“What’s there to like?! I’m an asshole!”

“Yeah, you are.” He smiles for just a second, before he catches himself and shakes his head. “You need to fix it.” 

That’s the last thing he says to you for the rest of the day, a day filled with lots of homework and difficult problems that you could really have used his help on. Not to mention, you left your lunch at home, and you have a detention after school to attend. (Vriska is in detention with you, and she passes the time by flicking wads of paper at the back of your head when the teacher isn’t looking. You’re going to kill her, you decide.)

Finally, mercifully, you are released from school-hell and get to go home. Miserable, hungry, and with a pounding headache, you collapse onto your bed the moment you enter your room.

John was right. You need to fix this.

PASSWORD REQUIRED:  
_ _ _ _ _

Fine. If it’s a game she wants, you’ll play along for now.

PASSWORD REQUIRED:  
S O R R Y

>>Password Accepted

\- carcinoGeneticist began pestering gardenGnostic at 4:45 pm -

CG: JADE.  
CG: LISTEN…  
CG: IM SORRY.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi...... so, this chapter has been sitting on my computer for ages. like... well over a year. the thing is, i am not sure i'll ever finish this fic. i haven't worked on it since writing this. if people WANT me to, i might, or at least create a chapter that summarizes everything i had planned for it so you all don't get left out in the cold, lonely darkness. but i'm not currently planning on continuing. gimme feedback if you'd like, though, or if you want to take this fic and run with it, carrying the baton across the finish line, you are the hero, it is you


End file.
